Elder Ministry

Each and every weekend, nearly 1,400 people participate in services at Christ Church. Each and every day, the members of Christ Church’s College of Elders are committed to shepherding and leading all of the people who call Christ Church their church home.

 

What Do Elders Do?
Elders work with the Lead Pastor to ensure that the ministries, fellowship, and finances of Christ Church are spiritually healthy and effectively accomplishing the church’s mission and purpose. Elders ask, “Is our church healthy? Are we making disciples? Are we maturing in faith and in service? Are we developing a generous heart and are we stewarding God’s resources wisely? Do people in the community feel more positively about God because of Christ Church?”

 

How do Elders Do Their Work?

• Elders pray and study. Elders face a great variety of issues that require spiritual maturity and discernment. Elders study to understand God’s ways and pray to find His guidance.
• Elders focus on the “big picture”. Elders focus on the strategic direction of the church as a whole by reviewing ministry plans, overseeing the development and performance of the annual budget, developing necessary policies, and evaluating the work of the lead pastor. Pastors and ministry leaders develop plans for ministry and supervise the day-to-day operations of the church.
• Elders shepherd. Elders work with the lead pastor to ensure that all ministries are doctrinally sound and relationally healthy. When difficulties occur and the situation requires it, elders step in to resolve conflicts and provide scriptural guidance for the purpose of restoring the church and all the individuals involved to fellowship and spiritual well-being.
• Elders work together. Elders act as a group to discern God’s guidance and to make decisions by consensus. They work, pray, and stay at it until they all come to an agreement that is consensual —among a college of godly leaders. No elder, other than the lead pastor, exercises authority as an individual.

How are Elders Selected?
The New Testament model for selecting elders is to identify and appoint those in the church whose spiritual gifts fit elder ministry and whose lives demonstrate godly character, good judgment and strong relational skills. (Titus 1:6-9, 1 Timothy 3:1-7; 1 Peter 5:2).

At Christ Church, the process for discerning new elders has four stages.

1. INVITATION - When new Elders are to be selected, the College of Elders will discern a candidate or candidates from the congregation and invite them to become an elder candidate and participate in activities that will further discern God’s direction.
2. CANDIDACY - All elder candidates participate in lessons on leadership, a trial period of ministry (up to one year); and an interview with a team of fellow disciples.
3. ANNOUNCEMENT - The College of Elders will announce the names of the new elders to the congregation for one month. If members of the church have an objection to a proposed Elder, they may present that objection to the College of Elders for their consideration.
4. AFFIRMATION - New Elders are appointed by unanimous agreement by the College of Elders and are affirmed through a prayer and laying-on-of-hands ceremony before the congregation.

 

Meet our Elders

 

Dr. Dave Collings	Dr. Dave Collings has been the Lead Pastor of Christ Church since 1982. He has a Th. D. (Doctor of Theology) and is currently finishing his dissertation for his Ph. D. in the History of the Protestant Church in America from Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Dave has five children and seven grandchildren. He and his wife Sharon live in Medina.
Dr. Nancy Duelley	Dr. Nancy Duelley has been a member of Christ Church since 1992. She serves in a variety of roles, including elder, teacher, and leader of various task force groups. Professionally, Nancy has worked as a teacher, principal and director of educational programs in public schools since 1986. She holds a doctorate in educational administration (Ed.D) from the University of Akron. She and her husband, Don, have three adult children, two sons-in-law and three grandchildren who also participate in Christ Church.
Jeff Freese	Jeff Freese is Managing Director of the Capital Markets’ Public Finance Group for a national financial services provider. Jeff has over 30 years of experience in investment banking, credit administration, and commercial banking. He has a B. S. degree in Business Administration from Ashland University. Jeff serves on our Income Stewarship Team and teaches Discover: Financial Freedom classes. Jeff has five children and four grandchildren. He and his wife Carla live in Strongsville.
Ron McMillan	Ron McMillan joined Christ Church in 1998 while he was working on his law degree, which he received in 2000. Ron is now a litigation attorney with a downtown Cleveland firm, representing corporations, public entities and private persons in various types of disputes. In addition to serving in the elder ministry, Ron and his wife, Theresa, lead the Sunday morning nursery ministry.
Karen Patterson	Karen Patterson has been a member of Christ Church since 1997. Karen has been involved in various ministry activities of the church, and served as a member of the Steering Task Force. Karen is presently Director of Business Development for a Cleveland litigation support firm, prior to which she was president of her own company for ten years. She and her husband, Dwight, live in Strongsville with their two teenage daughters, both of whom are actively involved in ministry at Christ Church.
Mark Crumpton	Mark Crumpton is our Executive Director. Mark has a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of West Alabama. Mark worked 27 years in the wireless communications industry where he held senior leadership positions. He has a passion for helping people develop and improve their leadership skills. Mark and his wife Kim have two children, a son and a daughter.